Since no early end to the Ukraine crisis seems to be on the horizon, and the divisions between US allies and other countries are unlikely to go away so soon, Vietnam shall be faced with the difficult task of navigating its foreign policy in order not to unduly provoke either China or Russia by siding with either. It needs therefore to craft a foreign policy that is both firm and flexible at the same time. It is not a question of “with us or against us” as was the case of the US when it was waging its “war on terror”. That strategy cannot be applied in the Southeast Asian context.

Moreover, despite so much of emphasis on Asean centrality, there are a host of issues in which not every member of the bloc are on the same page. Differences do exist; yet Asean has earned the reputation of being one of the most successful regional organisations. Even in the Ukraine conflict, sharp divisions were visible at the recent peace summit in Switzerland. Hanoi need not unduly worry that its cosiness with Moscow would affect intraAsean relations. Hanoi is of course aware that the US with which it is balancing ties was not too pleased that Vietnam welcomed Putin.

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The core reason for US displeasure against Russia was its military operation in Ukraine. Washington still continues to stick to its old policy of “with us or against us”, which is why the US embassy in Hanoi rebuked the leadership in Vietnam saying that by welcoming Putin, Hanoi was laying a platform for the Russian leader to legitimise the war and allowing him to normalise his atrocities. However, given the manner in which Hanoi has crafted its foreign policy, it is capable of balancing its relations with all the three major powers ~ the US, Russia and China ~ and see that this strategy suits its foreign policy goals. Among the major highlights of Putin’s Vietnam visit was his call for a “New Security Architecture” for Asia based on not using force and peacefully settling disputes with no room for “closed military-political blocs”.

Putin signed 11 public agreements and memoranda of understanding with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam. Some other deals, details of which were not revealed, were also struck. The agreements centred on energy, education, science and technology. Both sides also agreed to work on a roadmap for a nuclear science and technology centre in Vietnam. All these sectors have come under Western sanctions because of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. These agreements underlined Moscow’s pivot to Asia after the West imposed sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. Wrapping up his trip, Putin accused the Nato military alliance of creating a security threat for Russia in Asia.

The 11 pacts signed in Hanoi were not on the same level as the landmark mutual defence agreement in North Korea. Understandably, the US was displeased by Hanoi’s support to Putin. Thus it transpired that both nations firmly committed themselves to deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership. In particular, Lam’s remarks that Putin has contributed to global “peace, stability, and development” must not have been music to US President Joe Biden’s ears. Like India, Vietnam has remained neutral on Putin’s intervention in Ukraine. It was Putin’s first trip to Vietnam since 2017. Putin also met with Vietnamese Communist Party General-Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Because the US has been working to strengthen and build partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, including with Vietnam, Hanoi runs the risk of inviting Washington’s wrath now. The US and its allies who treat the Russian leader as a pariah, protested and said he should not have been given a stage on which to defend his role in waging war in Ukraine. How Hanoi is going to balance its ties with Washington and Moscow remains to be seen. Biden quickly dispatched Assistant Secretary of State and former ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink to Hanoi to read its foreign policy closely and also stress Washington’s commitments to working with it to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

reaffirmed “US support for a strong, independent, resilient, and prosperous Vietnam” during the visit. The upgraded partnership between the US and Vietnam does not mean that Vietnam will sever ties with Russia or China. Hanoi is capable of the statecraft needed to conduct its foreign policy. Like any sovereign state, Vietnam too has the right to decide on its priorities. The manner in which Putin was received in Hanoi proved to be a public relations achievement. His triumphal reception in Hanoi marked a counterpoint to Russia’s recent setback and salvaged some of the prestige it had lost.

The visit of Indian Prime Minister Modi soon after has helped restore Putin’s global stature. His public relations blitz was helped by Vietnam, unlike North Korea, which has unfriendly relations with the US and its allies. Unlike North Korea, Vietnam is an important player in the global economy, not some comically evil pariah state like North Korea. Putin has an outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. He denies the charges. Neither Russia nor Vietnam is a member of the ICC.

In the military ceremony, Putin was embraced by both Lam and Chinh (President and Prime Minister), the kind of greeting reserved for the highest heads of state and rolled out when US President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam in 2023. For Vietnam, the US is an important partner now. The two upgraded diplomatic relations in 2023. The US is Vietnam’s top export market. Like India’s all-weather friendship with Russia that is timetested, Vietnam too has a shared history with Russia. Unlike India-Russia relations, Vietnam and Russia have a shared Communist history.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese cadres, including current members of the Politburo have trained in the former Soviet Union. It transpires therefore that by welcoming Putin, Hanoi was not proving to be anti-Western. It has learnt from history that it is always better to remain neutral on issues that could drift the country into controversy if it takes a position. Vietnam wants to be friends with everyone, but is against entering into a formal alliance with anyone. Welcoming Putin warmly despite the West’s views on Russia does not negatively impact in any way Vietnam’s international standing.

(The writer is former Senior Fellow, PMML, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi)